Be Ye Therefore Perfect

So what is better than Jesus Christ's teachings? If anything, I'd say there aren't very many things that are. His Sermon on the Mount is pretty amazing. It is full of commandments and ways we should live our lives. The "Be Attitudes," testifying that we're the salt of the earth, and that we shouldn't hide our light, which we get from Jesus Christ, are all just small examples of the doctrines and principles Jesus teaches here.
One of the most influential scriptures in my life comes at the very end of the first chapter of the Sermon on the Mount though.

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."-Matthew 5:48

When Christ came to the Americas, he decided that he needed to teach pretty much the same sermon to the people of Nephi. At the end of the first chapter of Christ speaking to his 12 Disciples in America, he says something similar yet something totally different!

"Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect."-3 Nephi 12:48

I love the similarities, and I love the differences. One interpretation, is that Christ commands us to be perfect. I believe this is true... partly. I'll explain better later. Perfection in this life is impossible to achieve. Only Christ was perfect. We can strive for moments when we are perfect. We repent, we are forgiven, and we are perfect, for a time. But if perfection is a commandment, and it is impossible, why would the Lord give it to us? That is why in the second verse I love the word "should." We should be perfect! Perfection should be obtained. We should obtain it through constant progression!

Be Ye Therefore Perfect


It is also very important to note one of the other most important differences between the two scriptures. Christ doesn't reference himself as perfect in the first verse. Only God the Father was perfect, but after Jesus Christ was resurrected, he was perfect. This makes me know that we must repent fully before we are resurrect, so we can be perfect beings to. We should become perfect, if we repent, and when we are resurrected!! That is such a happy and wonderful thought!

So here is my spin on this scripture. This is definitely not doctrine, neither do I claim that it ever will be, but I find it is good, and I find it helps me draw nearer unto Christ, which is the most important. It also makes it seem a little more realistic to me. The first question I have for you, if you have never discussed this with me before is what does the word "therefore" mean? From dictionary dot com I learn that it means, "in consequence of that; as a result; consequently." Okay, so to me that means, when I see the word "therefore," I'm supposed to look back at previous words to see what it is even talking about. The previous verse in the Book of Mormon version says,


"Old things are done away, and all things have become new... therefore"


So is he talking about how we need to be perfect in keeping the new laws... possibly. The verse before says,


"Therefore those things which were of old time, which were under the law, in me are all fulfilled."


Okay so now he just used another therefore, and he must have been talking about the new law and how we must live it perfectly... but wait! Let's read the verse previous to that last one. We're now on 45, just in case you've gotten lost.


"That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good."


So am I saying that Christ is telling us to be perfect at.... being children... no... one more verse brings me to where I want to be (and if you want to know, you get back to this point a lot faster if you look back in the New Testament version).


"But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you."


So what is the Savior saying we should be perfect in? I would argue, but not really because that is contention and that is of the devil, but I would think, and I would hope that he is hoping and asking and commanding us to become perfect in our love! Love of God, love of all men, and love for ourselves. I think all are very important in becoming the perfect beings that God the Father and his Son are. I think it also references Jesus Christ as fulfilling the most loving thing the world could ever imagine, in the Book of Mormon version. Because he was now perfect in the love the Father had for the world. 
I have a long way to go until I am perfect in my love for my fellow men. I know I have the capacity to love. I know I love those in my life now that have helped me change for the better, and I know that if I love as God loves us, I should be able to become perfect. SO!!! Be ye therefore perfect in LOVE!!